A/N

I've bitten the bullet and changed my penname from Twiloversue to my author name, Elise de Sallier. I hope it didn't throw anyone too much.

Thank you so much for the kind words and support you've given this story. I'm having so much fun writing it!

Thanks, also, to Katmom and NKubie for their awesome beta skills and encouraging words. :)


Chapter 9

Bella stared in disbelief. "All three of her daughters? I was included in the invitation to the palace ball?"

"By name." Alice gave a knowing nod.

"That evil . . ." Bella's hands clenched as she imagined wrapping them around Victoria's neck. Then she sighed. "I don't know why I'm surprised. It's no less than I'd expect of my stepmother, as it's not as if she's ever viewed me as a daughter . . . just a means to an end. What my father saw in her I'll never know."

Alice shrugged. "People like her are good at pouring on the charm, of being what you want them to be, until you're well and truly trapped. Only then do they let their true colours show."

The bitterness in her friend's tone was unmistakeable, and Bella reached across the little kitchen table to give her hand a squeeze. She had a feeling Alice was close to revealing her own tale, one she suspected would be far from pleasant.

"I'd held a faint hope that my father's good name would be restored with King Carlisle's return, but I should have known Victoria would use it to her advantage, not mine. She didn't waste any time finding a way to exploit the connection." Bella's shoulders slumped. "I've already been 'sold to the highest bidder', so there's no profit to be made from having me accompany her and the girls to the ball."

"Then we sneak you in." Alice's smile contained more than a hint of malice. "Your name will be on the list. We'll just have to bribe whatever fancy fellow does the announcing to let you slip by. You can be a 'mystery' guest, and once inside, you can find your charming, but forgetful, prince and ask for his help."

Bella winced. "That's a nice idea, but I wouldn't put it passed Victoria to make a scene. She could have me arrested."

"She has to recognise you first."

"Recognise me?" Bella raised a brow before groaning and smacking her forehead with her hand. "That's right. I'll need a gown, and there's only four days until the ball. Even if I can come up with something at this late notice, I don't think it will be enough of a disguise."

"You let me worry about the disguise, and as for the gown . . ." Alice stood and crooked her finger. Bella followed, hope rising along with a surge of guilt.

"I have no way to pay you, Alice."

"Oh, pfft." The seamstress waved a hand then knelt to unlock a wooden chest in the adjoining workroom. "You're my friend, and besides, I think I subconsciously made this gown with you in mind. I could have sold it a dozen times over, but I couldn't bring myself to part with it."

Alice stood and spread the bundle in her arms out on her work table, smoothing the rich fabric with her hands.

"Oh, Alice. It's beautiful!" Bella caressed the dress with a reverent touch. A deep ruby red, the long gown was embellished with gold embroidery, the trailing sleeves made of a shimmering gold chiffon. The off-the-shoulder design incorporated a tightly corseted waist and bodice that Bella imagined would reveal a daringly low décolletage. "I couldn't possibly—"

"You could and you will." Alice's tone brooked no nonsense. "With your creamy complexion and lovely dark hair, you'll look divine."

"I don't know about that." Bella ducked her head, trying not to think what Edward's impression of her would be . . . or feel hurt that he'd made no effort to contact her. Surely it wasn't his fault. He'd said it would take time to see what could be done on her behalf, and he was sure to have been busy.

Shying away from the thought of Edward wooing Princess Rosalie, Bella focussed on finding a way to avoid having to marry Mr Felix, a fate as horrifying as any she'd feared.

"You mentioned a disguise?" She met Alice's gaze. "What are you thinking?"

"Those were my exact words when your stepsisters informed me they'd designed head wear to go with their gowns." Alice shuddered.

"Head wear?" Bella frowned. "It's not a costume ball, is it?"

"No, but your stepsisters' creations look like they could be worn in a travelling circus. One thing neither they nor their mother can be accused of is practising restraint!"

Bella groaned. "The gaudier the better. Every time there's some tacky new addition to the parlour or their bed rooms, I have to avert my eyes. Victoria thinks I'm being submissive, but it's either that or start smashing things."

Alice grinned. "Well, there'll be no need to do either this time, as your stepmother and sisters' lack of taste is going to work to our advantage. I've a flurry of ladies due to pick up their gowns in the next few days—did I mention I've taken on an assistant? Her name is Angela, and she's an absolute doll. She's highly creative, as well as being quite the charmer. The customers are very taken with her. I was hesitant to employ another seamstress, but the shop is so busy I can't possibly keep up."

"I'm glad you're doing so well." Bella's smile was tentative, as she wasn't sure how this news fit in with her own situation.

"We're both going to do well," Alice said firmly before giving a shake of her head. "But first we have to get you out of the clutches of your horrid stepmother before she can hand you over to the even worse clutches of Mr Felix." Standing, she crossed to a row of shelves and brought a box over to the table. "Which will require me, with Angela's help, to convince the ladies picking up their gowns that they simply must have the latest fashion accessory."

Opening the box with a flourish, Alice lifted a diamante encrusted hair clip into the air.

"That's pretty," Bella said, taking the piece from Alice and turning it over in her hands. "Did you make it?"

"No, Angela did. It's how she came to my attention. She was going to sell them for tuppence in the markets until I convinced her I could get her ten times as much, and pay her a proper wage, if she came and worked for me." Rummaging in the box, Alice withdrew a selection of colourful head pieces before finding what she was after. "Voila!" she announced, passing the feathered creation to Bella.

"A mask?"

"Yes. I'll make sure you're not the only lady wearing one, so it won't seem too odd."

Bella giggled before her expression sobered. "Are you sure about this, Alice? We're talking about influencing the attire worn by guests to a palace ball. What if the ladies you convince to wear all these fripperies are embarrassed to be set apart? Your reputation and business could suffer."

"Oh, Bella, you really don't understand fashion." Alice smirked. "By the time Angela and I have finished, our customers will be so convinced of the superiority of their choices, they'll spend the night looking down their noses in disdain at those poor souls who weren't astute enough to follow the trend. I'll be inundated the morning after the ball, you just wait and see."

"As long as you're certain," Bella said, holding the elegant eye mask up to her face.

"Very." Alice nodded decisively. "I'll have Angela make a mask to match your gown, which takes care of both your attire and disguise. Now to work out a way to free you from your basement prison after that wicked stepmother of yours has locked you in for the night, as I'm assuming she'll have the key on her person."

"Mrs Hahn, the housekeeper, has a copy." Bella shrugged, knowing it wouldn't do her any good. "She has to let me out in the morning, so I can attend to my chores . . . hours before Victoria rises. But she'd never do anything to risk her position, nor would I feel right asking it of her."

"Hmmm . . ." Alice drummed her fingers on the table. "There's also the matter of transportation, as you can't very well hike up to the palace after dark dressed to the nines. It wouldn't be at all safe."

"Then it's hopeless." Bella sighed. She'd have to run away and pray she wasn't caught by the watchmen her stepmother was sure to send after her . . . or captured by even worse evildoers than her legitimate guardian and prospective spouse.

"I wouldn't say hopeless." Alice's smile turned devious, and a shiver ran down Bella's spine. "What you need is a little faith, while I need to conjure up some magic."

~xxx~

Bella lay huddled in the dark, feigning sleep. Her few possessions were packed and waiting in a bag that sat on the ground by her cot. Whatever happened this night, she'd not be returning to the home she'd once shared with her Papa, not by choice.

The last four days had passed with agonising slowness, Bella's nerves stretched to breaking point. It had taken all her hard won reserves of patience not to snap at Jessica and Lauren while they'd run her ragged in preparation for their "night of triumph." She'd done her best to style their hair elegantly and had to admit the gowns Alice had made them were beautiful, if a little overdone for her taste. But she'd been hard-pressed to keep a straight face when they'd donned the elaborate head pieces they'd designed themselves. With enough starched bows, feathers, and ruffles between them to decorate a Harvest Day stall, Bella thought her stepsisters looked ridiculous, but she'd kept her opinion to herself.

A black eye or swollen cheek could be hidden by the half-mask she'd be wearing. But if she got the chance to speak with Edward privately, she'd rather his last memory of her not be one where she looked beaten and bruised. Not that his opinion of her was of any great consequence, but she wanted to hold onto what little left she had of her pride.

At the sound of something scraping against the high, barred window, Bella sat up with a start.

"Alice, is that you?" she whispered.

"Yes. Just give us a minute," she heard muttered in return.

Bella took the time to smooth the tangles from her hair. It had taken all her courage, and no little acting skill, to ask Victoria if she could please take that bath she'd promised her in preparation for Mr Felix's imminent arrival.

"A bride should look presentable on her wedding day," she'd said, struggling to hide her revulsion at the thought of being married to such a man.

"So, you're planning to make the best of it, are you?" Victoria had seemed disappointed Bella was meekly accepting her fate. "Good luck with that," she'd added with a sneer, but Bella hadn't cared, grateful to receive the concession. She'd had no time to luxuriate in the tepid bath she'd been allowed, but it was still a joy to be completely clean—cloth washes from a small basin never quite the same. The last time she could recall her hair feeling and smelling so lovely was when it had been rain washed in the forest, and that was nearly three weeks prior. Three weeks with not a word from Edward.

Bella's stomach clenched at the thought of seeing him again, the sweet sensations her attraction to him had stirred within her replaced by anxiety. What if he denied knowing her? What if he refused to help? He'd seemed so kind, so caring, but he'd ridden off and forgotten all about her.

A metallic screeching sound was followed by a muffled curse, and Bella leaped to her feet.

"Hush!" she whispered urgently. "If Mrs Hahn comes to check on me, that will be the end of it."

The grate covering the window rattled back and forward then moved away altogether, leaving a dark, gaping hole up near the ceiling of the sunken room. Then Alice's smiling face peered in.

"You don't need to worry about the servants. They're having a party in the kitchen, one that will leave them all sleeping very soundly in short order . . . if they're not already. Now, watch out," she added, and threw a rope ladder down that unfurled against the stone wall.

Bella secured her bag over her shoulder and began to climb.

"What have you done to the servants?" she asked as she neared the top.

"Nothing to harm them permanently, though there might be a few sore heads amongst them come morning," Alice said, catching hold of Bella's arms and hauling her through the opening. "I sent them a complimentary bottle of wine, a gift from your stepmother for their diligent service, laced with a powerful sleeping draft."

"They'll never believe it was from Victoria," Bella said between panted breaths, as she tumbled into her friends arms. "And Victoria will know it was a set up to cover my escape."

"So?" Alice shrugged. "The servants are happily drinking, or they were before things went quiet, and every last one of them will be able to say, in all honesty, that they had nothing to do with your escape. Oh, this is Ben, by the way," Alice added when Bella startled at the sight of a young man crouched beside them.

"Pleased to meet ye, miss." He doffed his cap then set about replacing the heavy grate across the window. "I'm a friend of Angela's, and I'll be driving ye up to the palace. But I'll 'ave to bring ye back to the village come midnight, so I can return in time to collect some paying customers."

"Which means we only have a few hours." Alice stood and urged Bella to her feet. "So that's enough chit chat, as we've got to get you ready for the ball."

~xxx~

"Oh, Alice," Bella breathed her friend's name on a sigh while staring at her reflection in the dress shop's full length mirror. "I hardly need the mask, though you've done a beautiful job," she addressed Angela, a sweet, dark eyed girl who blushed at the praise, before turning back to her friend. "But I'm unrecognisable. You're a miracle worker. I never would have imagined I could look so . . . so . . ."

"Stunningly beautiful?" Alice supplied with a smug smile. "I knew all along, but I'd hardly call it a miracle when one has such excellent raw material with which to work."

Bella returned Alice's smile in the mirror, though her gaze kept returning to the undeniably lovely young lady taking up the space where her frazzled form had stood not twenty minutes earlier. She'd worried how to arrange her hair without the benefit of hours spent curling it first, but Alice had fashioned a few tiny braids near her brow to add some texture while sweeping the rest into an elegant twist. It was a far cry from the current complicated fashions, but the simple design suited Bella, the fine, gold chain pinned amongst the braids complimenting her gown.

"Now for piece de resistance." Alice held the red and gold mask up to Bella's face and pinned it in place. "There!" She spread her arms, as if presenting Bella to the room. "Magnificent, if I do say so myself. That stepmother of yours won't have a clue who you are, though I can guarantee she—along with all the other matchmaking mamas—will be fuming when the attention is diverted away from their drab little darlings. As to your Prince Edward, once he's stopped drooling and has rolled his tongue back in his mouth, he'll be grovelling on bended knee, begging your forgiveness for his unpardonable neglect."

Heat rushed to Bella's cheeks, and she was glad they were at least partially hidden by the mask. "My purpose isn't to try and impress him, Alice. To what end? Tonight his betrothal is to be announced. I just need him to do what he said he would do and help me."

"Oh, I know." Alice flapped her hands in front of her face as if warding off tears. "Take no notice of my silliness. Despite everything I've learned to the contrary, there's still a part of me that holds onto the most ridiculous notions of romantic fantasy. Mind you…" She eyed Bella pointedly. "There's something to be said for presentation when it comes to securing the assistance of a knight—or prince—in shining armour. I imagine some might hesitate to rush to the aid of a plain woman, but one as lovely as you is at least guaranteed a hearing."

Squaring her shoulders, Bella faced her reflection. Unless Edward had been merely acting a part, his character altogether different to the way he'd portrayed himself during their time alone in the forest, a hearing was hopefully all she needed.


A/N

So, we're all agreed. Alice makes a perfect fairy godmother! But what's going on with Edward?

If you'd like to see the gown and masks I used for inspiration for Bella's transformation, they're up on my author facebook page. I've never tried using images with a story before, and I'd love to hear your thoughts. You can find me by typing Elise de Sallier Author into your facebook search tab. I've also included some recs for some great stories I'm reading at the moment. Feel free to click 'like' if you want to hear more from me, or you're welcome to friend me on my Elise de Sallier page. :)